I am a dabbler in home automation and thinking about starting to get into lighting. I have heard mostly good things about the Philip Hue line and wanted to see what peoples thoughts are about it.
Our main current automation are a large number of Google Smart Speaker and Arlo video doorbells. Everything is working now on the Google ecosystem which I think Philip Hue will connect with. Our house is 100 years old which means that our possibilities to automate are lower than a new home since we have very few overhead lights, power outlets are at a premium (we have lots of power strips running through the house).
We are thinking about doing smart bulbs in some lamps which we can leave on and a chandalier. I think the biggest issue will leaving things always powered on.
I have 16 of the Hue bulbs in my home, all running off a Hue bridge using Home Assistant. This was easy to setup, and basically I haven’t had any issues with them in the almost 8 years I’ve owned them. I have three Hue switches and an android tablet for control of the other lights, and Home Assistant runs off a raspberry Pi.
I don’t think I can really help you much though because I bought my setup mostly on sale and haven’t had other brands of bulbs or switches.
I will warn that Phillips also sells a whiz brand bulb and this product doesn’t run off zigbee and pretty much requires an internet connection to work. Do not be fooled by the cheaper prices.